Allen Park — It’s still too early to tell whether Denzel Mims will have a spot on the Lions’ roster by Week 1.
But in the meantime, it’s clear the Lions appreciate the effort that Mims has shown since arriving via trade with the New York Jets before training camp.
“He’s never been a special teams guy. We told him from Day 1, ‘Man, you have to do some things. We have to see if you can do some things on (special teams),’” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “And to his credit, a guy who’s never really done it, I mean, he’s out there, he’s going. (Lions special teams coordinator Dave) Fipp and I were just talking about him last night, we were watching these clips.
“I’m like, ‘This guy is just competing.’”
Mims’ arrival in Detroit brought to an end a frustrating start to his career with the Jets. In three seasons, the former second-round pick totaled a combined 676 receiving yards.
“I like Mims. Here’s the first thing that shows up to me, aside from the size because he is kind of an opposing figure for a receiver out there at X, but man, he’s physical,” Campbell said. “You get up there and press him and it shows up, like it’s different. He can fight out there, he can battle versus press. … Now, he has a ways to go. He’s raw in some things.
“But man, I appreciate the fact that the guy has come in and is doing everything — and he said he would. He said, ‘Coach, I’ll do whatever and I’ll give you whatever I got,’ and he’s doing it. So, I respect the heck out of that. He’s somebody that I’m really — man, I want to see if he can take another step and there’s some things he can do for us on offense.”
As far as the Lions understand it, Mims was never given the chance to carve out a role elsewhere on the team, prove his worth in a way that could help him gain confidence and round out into a complete player.
“I feel like I’ve been doing pretty good. I feel like I’ve been knowing my assignments, playing hard, playing fast, and just being where I’m supposed to be, doing what (Jared Goff) wants,” Mims said.
“I just got to continue to do that, so I can continue to do that until we get to Week 1. I think it’s going well for me. I just got to stay locked in.”
The Lions’ ideal situation would be for Mims to play his way onto the roster using his talent at receiver. But in the meantime, his special teams performance may help him stick around just long enough to land a spot on the roster and continue developing.
“I feel like he’s giving (special teams) his full attention, and I really respect and appreciate that,” Fipp said. “Coming where he was coming from, he’s coming here and he’s trying to — man, this is your second chance, you’re a (second)-round draft pick. It’s like, ‘Hey, I got to make it happen.’
“And really, you’re thinking that way on offense. But then you got this other thing over here and you’re like, ‘I got to do that too now.’”
While the special teams work is showing up in a big way, Mims said he’s growing more comfortable as a receiver in the Lions’ offense.
“I kind of felt that really after the first two days. I kind of felt like, ‘OK, I feel comfortable here,’” Mims said. “I got the plays right away, caught onto them very early and just got thrown out there and I was just doing what I’m supposed to.
“It’s just good to have a fresh start, a new start. Now I got new teammates, a new team, new system, new fans, so it’s just great to be here. I’m blessed to be here as well, so I just feel very good being here.”
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @nolanbianchi